Eragon: The Hatching
by StaroftheBlackRose
Summary: Tatlyana, younger daughter of Islandsadi, was captured, and escaped with the two dragon eggs lond held by Galbatorix. She returns home to turn the tide of the seemingly neverending war.


Eragon

The Hatching

A pool of moonlight lit the stark cell of grey stone in which an elven girl was imprisoned. Her hair was a firey red and her eyes were sapphire blue, twinkling like gems in the moonlight as they gazed through the barred window at the star strewn sky. Her eyes were filled with long suppressed pain, and seemed to be on the edge of a dark void from which her mind could not be resqued if it fell.

She lay back on her cot and as she rolled onto her side the black shirt she wore shifted, revealing numerous scars and wounds on her back, from beatings she had recieved. Most had been given by Galbatorix himself, self proclaimed king of Alagaesia.

He was a Dragon Rider driven mad by the death of his first dragon and the refusal of the elders to grant him a new one. He, along with 13 other Riders known as the Forsworn, obliterated all Riders and crowned himself. Now the last of his Forsworn, Morzan, had died, and the Varden, a group dedicated to destroying Galbatorix, were gaining strength. There was even word that a new Rider had risen and had joined the Varden.

The elf, Tatlyana, knew it to be true, for she had been in Ellesmera, the elven capital, when the Rider, a human boy named Eragon, and his dragon, Saphira, had arrived so he could complete his training. Tatlyana was the second child of Queen Islanzadi of the elves, and it was against her mother's wishes that she left for Uru'baen, intent on retrieving the other two dragon eggs from Galbatorix's grasp.

She had been caught of course, but she had made it to the chamber where the eggs were kept before being apprehended. She now heartily cursed herself for not heeding her mother. For the past three days since she had been caught she had been tortured repeatedly by Galbatorix, who was intent on getting information only she could give, such as the whereabouts of the elves and the Varden and, particularly, the Dragon Rider, known as Eragon Shadeslayer.

Tatlyanya's elven resistance was all that had kept her from folding the first day, for the weakest elf could best the strongest human and elves were the strongest spellcasters, and she was exeptionally good, even by elven standards, which was why she believed she could get the eggs. _Damn my self confidence, look where it's gotten me. _she thought bitterly. But by now even her resistance was fading, for no doubt Galbatorix was incredibly strong for a human, and she was beggining to wear down.

Soon, she knew, her mind would collapse and Galbatorix would gain sufficient information to destroy the elves and the Varden, and Eragon. The corners of her eyes burned at the thought. _How could I have been so stupid? Now I may have killed us all!_ she berrated herself, tears slipping from her eyes. _And Eragon... I'll never see him again._ she thought and the tears came harder, then, just as suddenly, stopped altogether. _I can't... I won't let it happen! I will, I MUST excape! _

It was then that she realized that the drug she had been forced to take had dissipated and her powers returned to her. To check she picked up her empty pitcher of water and held her hand above it. "_Adurna_." she whispered and it filled with pure water, and she drank deeply for the first time since her imprisonment. She finished and set the newly emptied pitcher down and wiped her mouth with the back of her sleeve. _I don't have much time, Galbatorix will arive in a few hours, it's nearly dawn. _she realized and stood. She wore a loose black shirt and pants, which she had been wearing when captured. She placed her hands upon the iron door of her cell and said, "_Jierda_!" It broke, its shards flying outwards, away from Tatlyana, making little sound.

She crept from her cell and flitted through shadows, at one point flattening herself against the wall to avoid detection. Pain shot through her back like hot knives from her various wounds but still she pressed on, her pointed ears twitching, straining to detect sound before it would be too late. For close to an hour she traveled in this way, until she arrived at the chamber of the dragon eggs. The door was of silver and extremely thick. Occasionally people were led within by Galbatorix to see if one of the dragons would hatch. She placed her hands upon the silver and drew upon her magic once more. "_Arget._" she whispered and an image of the door appeared.

Tatlyana pushed it and it disappeared as the real door opened. On a pedestal in the center of the room lay two dragon eggs, one silver and one green. She entered cautiously, checking for signs of guards. Upon seeing none she made to step up to the table but stopped, noticing a slight shimmering in the air. _He has placed a ward! _she realized, then stopped to consider it. Her hands suddenly glowed a bright silver and she plunged them into the depths of the ward. With a flick of her hands it disappeared and she gathered the two eggs, tucking them in her pack, which she had retrieved along the way.

She exited, closing the doors, then heard a hiss of laughter behind her. "Well done, well done I must say. I didn't expect you to escape." Galbatorix said, softly clapping as she whirled around. "It won't happen again I'm quite sure, however. Well, hand the eggs back to me like an obediant wench and I'll accompany you back to your cell."

"Wyrdfell!" Tatlyana cried angrily, spitting at his feet. Wyrdfell is the elven word for the Forsworn. "Of course, if you would rather me take you there by force, so be it." Galbatorix responded, his face still calm. Tatlyana knew she was too weak to face him currently, so she did the only thing she could do, she ran. He was startled by this action, which gave her a decent head start. He was human, he would not be able to catch her, and by the time he got on his dragon she would be well away and hidden. She ran as fast as she could, which is extremely fast for an elf, and soon she had left the prison and pelted for the forest. Within minuets she was in the shelter of the trees. Comforted, she chose a spot deep within the trees, set up wards, and slept, too tired to get in her bed roll.

In the morning she awoke to a high pitched squealing noise issuing from her pack. She sat up and drew it towards her, wondering what it could be, and opened it. She found the silver dragon egg shaking and squealing. She gingerly withdrew it from her pack and it began to crack. She set it on the ground and watched as, slowly but surely, the silver dragon emerged from its egg. She gasped as, with a little grunt and a puff of smoke, the tiny dragon tumbled out of the remains of its egg. It's scales shined and rippled like liquid moon beams, and it's silver eyes were like miniature full moons with slitted black pupils. It's snout was long and thin, with sharp miniscule fangs protruding from its muzzle. From the base of its neck to the tip of its tail was a spiked ridge the color of sun beams, as were its claws. Tatlyana gasped when she saw that, upon its forehead, a half sphere of black, and the rest of the sphere was golden.

"You're a _lead dragon_, descendent from the First Rider's dragon!" she exclaimed reverantly, "And you chose me!" Slowly she inched her trembling fingers toward its forehead. When she touched it there was a blinding white flash of light and a searing pain in her right hand, the hand touching the baby dragon. When it cleared she withdrew her hand and noticed a white eliptical shape on her palm. "Gedwey ignasia." she whispered reverantly. Shining Palm in the Ancient language, all Dragon Riders bear one. She gathered the pieces of its egg and placed them together, holding them with one hand and waving her other hand over it as she said, "_Thryst._", Ancient word for compress. It did so, not quite becoming whole, but holding together without aid. _For memory._ she thought, gazing raptly at the- her- dragon. She felt a brief touch on her mind, recieving feelings of affection and amusement from her dragon. She suddenly went cold at the thought of what Galbatorix would do if he found them, for she was too weak to prevent him scrying her. She reached her hands out to it, and it climbed on to them. _We must leave, and quickly. _she thought at it, and recieved a feeling of affirmation from it. She brought her hands up to her neck and it crawled onto her shoulders, then curled up around her neck, clutching the cloth of her shirt but not her skin with its dagger like claws. This warmed her up as well, with its warm tummy against her neck. She gathered her pack and bedroll and set off into the still darkness, her sharp eyes cutting through the gloom.

She began her long grueling journey to Ellesmera, traveling by night and getting food for her dragon by day, then sleeping for a few hours. By the time she reached the forest that secreted Ellesmera, she was moving through sheer force of will. Had she been human, she would likely have given up long befor then. She staggered into the forest and leaned against a tree, catching her breath. "Come forth, my brethren. 'Tis I Tatlyana of Ellesmera. I have returned from Uru'baen," she called in elven , the words resounding through the silent forest. Soon she was surrounded by anxious elves, each one bowing and muttering to her in elven. "Please, take me to Ellesmera," she said, not bothering with formalities in light of her rather desperate situation. The elves nodded and led her through the forest, in the direction of the city.

Over the five months it had taken her to reach the forest, she had been far too tired to take in her surroundings, though she did now. The sunlight shifted down through the trees, forming a dappled golden green curtain over the ground, the light cool and the air fresh, refreshing her immensley. Her dragon, Kidana, had grown large indeed, though not yet full grown. _Come, Kidana, it is safe. _Tatlyana called to her dragon, stopping momentarily in a clearing ringed with tall thick leaved trees. She was as large as a small cottage by now, and when she settled to the floor of the clearing she looked like nothing so much as a large hill with golden spikes protruding from it. The other elves instantly were ringing Kidana, who enjoyed the attention. _You'd better get used to it Kidana, I can tell you hate it so. _Tatlyana told her, sarcastic in a friendly way, grinning, though the tired look in her eyes did not ease.

_I already am._ Kidana replied indignantly, stretching her long neck sinuously to look around at Tatlyana, whose smile widened. Kidana gave what could pass for a dragonish grin, and Tatlyana chuckled. _We're in Ellesmera now, Kidana. Perhaps your brother egg will hatch. _Tatlyana said, withdrawing the green egg from her sack, and holding it high in the air to storms of applause and cheers. _We're home, and we're free. Now the true adventure shall begin._


End file.
